Serving up six: Badgers kick off three-match road swing

MADISON, Wis. — Seventh-ranked Wisconsin (9-3, 3-1 B1G) kicks off a three-match road swing with two matches this week. The Badgers travel to Bloomington, Indiana, on Wednesday to take on the Hoosiers (9-7, 2-2). First serve is at 7 p.m. CT live on the Big Ten Network. On Saturday, UW takes on No. 5 Purdue (13-1, 4-0) from West Lafayette, Indiana. Match time is 5 p.m. CT streamed live on B1G+.  

1. BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK: Wisconsin got back on the winning track last weekend, picking up two Big Ten wins. The Badgers swept No. 12 Penn State on Friday before edging Illinois, 3-2, on Sunday. UW is currently tied for third in the Big Ten standings at 3-1.  Big Ten Standings

2. DOUBLING DOWN:  The Badgers picked up five double-doubles last weekend. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin had 12 kills and 12 digs vs. Penn State on Friday. Against Illinois on Sunday, four Badgers recorded double-doubles. Freshman Gulce Guctekin recorded a career-high 23 digs and added a career-best 11 assists for her first career double-double. Senior Izzy Ashburn also earned her first career double-double, tallying 27 assists and 12 digs. Junior MJ Hammill added 20 assists and 11 digs while sophomore Julia Orzol recorded 12 kills and a career-high 16 digs.   



3. HITTING LEADERS! In Big Ten play, Wisconsin has two players in the top three for hitting percentage. Devyn Robinson leads the league at .421 while Danielle Hart ranks third at .388. As a team, UW ranks fourth in hitting percentage at .237.   Big Ten Statistics

4. GREAT GULCE: Freshman Gulce Guctekin has recorded double-figure digs in the last 10 matches in a row, averaging 4.09 digs per set over the stretch. The 5-foot-5 libero tallied a career-high 23 assists vs. Illinois on Sunday while adding a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double. On the season, the libero ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 3.81 digs per set. In Big Ten play, Guctekin ranks sixth with 4.14 digs per set.

5. RANKED 12TH IN NCAA RPI: UW is ranked 12th in the first NCAA RPI of the season, released Monday.  The Ratings Percentage Index is used to rank teams based on wins and losses as well as strength of schedule. It is used to select and seed teams for the NCAA tournament. The Badgers are the fourth Big Ten team in the RPI, which features seven conference teams in the top 15.

6. WINNING A FIVE…